


Two Weeks

by celestia



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Road Trip, and some other stuff that make it rated T
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 17:11:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7810345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestia/pseuds/celestia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Andrew wakes up Neil and tells him to pack two weeks worth of clothing. Staying at Fox Tower isn't going to help his nightmares, but maybe driving across the country will.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Weeks

It’s 3:08 in the morning when Neil gets an abrupt awakening from a nightmare. Andrew is swinging his legs out of the bed when he says, “Get up Neil, pack two weeks worth of clothes. We’re leaving in ten minutes.”

Neil is dazed from just waking up and Andrew doesn’t seem to be making much sense. Neil rubs his eyes while whispering, “What?”

“You’ve been having nightmares for three days and haven’t said anything. We’re leaving. You’re being an idiot and we’ll just drive somewhere for a while. You’re obviously not going to suddenly sleep better staying here.” Andrew says this like he’s explaining what 2+2 is.

Neil makes his way off the bed they’ve been sharing at the Fox Tower. Not many people stay over the summer so it’s been peaceful for a while, save the nightmares Neil’s been having these past few days. By the time Neil starts to pack Andrew already has his duffel bag over his shoulder and is grabbing the keys to the Maserati.

“It’s 3:15. Three minutes or you’re getting left behind.” Andrew doesn’t even look at Neil while he speaks.

Neil exhales, “Wouldn’t that defeat the entire purpose of this road trip?” Andrew doesn’t respond and Neil knows he’s won this round as he finishes packing his necessities in two minutes. Neil’s life on the run makes packing an easy feat, his duffel was all he had when he started school his freshman year. Now, finishing his sophomore year only a few weeks ago he felt a pang of nostalgia for his old life. It’s not a good feeling, but nostalgia was never good for anything anyway. Nostalgia has always been a liar.

“3:18, Josten let’s go.”

“Coming.” Once Neil reaches Andrew he says, “Yes or no?”

Andrew sighs knowing full well that Neil hasn’t brushed his teeth but complies anyway, “Yes.”

Neil is smart enough to know that he probably has morning breath even though it’s only 3:19. He gives Andrew a quick peck and starts to say thank you when Andrew shuts him up with another peck back with his hand on Neil’s neck.

“You’re an idiot.” Andrew says releasing his hold on Neil while they walk down the stairs after leaving their dorm room.

“I thought I was a smart ass?” Neil says not skipping a beat.

“No one likes a smart ass,” Andrew snaps back.

“You do,” Neil says with a smile.

“You’re pushing it,” Andrew replies with a bitter tone that has no bite. 

Despite it being summer, there is a chill in the air on account of it being so early. They walk quickly to the Maserati and when Andrew starts the engine Neil immediately turns the heat on. Andrew looks at him with a blank expression.

“It’s summer.”

Neil frowns. “That doesn’t mean it isn’t cold right now. Feel my arm. I have goosebumps.”

Neil points to the area that isn’t covered by his armbands. Andrew humors him and touches it. That surprises Neil a bit that to the point where he feels like his hair is standing straight up. Andrew sighs and turns around to grab his duffle bag. He grabs his sports jacket that says “Minyard” written clearly on the back.

“Put it on and turn the heat off.” Andrew looks behind him to back out of the parking lot.

Neil quickly does what he’s told with a smile while Andrew is looking away.

“I know you’re smiling. Stop that.” Andrew turns around to pull out of the parking lot. “I was right. Now stop.”

Neil shrugs, not caring what Andrew thinks. It’s not often Andrew would offer up his jacket. He turns the heat off in exchange for this. It’s very familiar, their exchanges. I do this, you do that. I tell you this truth, you tell me that truth. 

“Where are we going by the way?”

Andrew doesn’t take his eyes off the road. “I don’t care. Pick a direction, there’s only four of them.”

“Well that’s not true,” Neil crosses his arms, “If you count northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest, you get eight. I feel like you should know this.”

“Do you know how annoying you are? Has anyone bothered to tell you this?”

“No, not really. The only one who makes a point of it is the person who’s dating me.”

“I feel really bad for that person. Now pick a direction.”

Neil stares at Andrew with a blank expression. Neil turns back to look at the road ahead of him. “Northwest.”

Andrew nods.

For the most part their ride is silent. It’s close to four in the morning so neither have much to say or the energy to say it. That doesn’t stop Neil from stealing glances at a focused Andrew. He’s happy that Andrew noticed something was bothering him enough to do this for him. Despite how close they are, sometimes it seems easier to Neil to bottle up his feelings. It worked for eighteen and a half years. But Andrew had notice, had thought about it, and decided to take two weeks off from staying in the Fox Tower and just go somewhere, _anywhere_ , with Neil.

Around four Neil and Andrew can feel a pang of hunger and a need for coffee. They pull over in the middle of nowhere North Carolina to an a twenty four hour diner. The diner was just as generic and tacky as the ones in they saw in the movies all the foxes would watch together.

“Are you sure this is where you wanna go?” Neil asked. He could tell that a neon decorated diner isn’t Andrew’s thing.

Andrew shrugs. “They have coffee for you and pancakes for me.”

Neil nods now understanding why Andrew picked the place. When they open the door they are seated immediately by a woman in her fifties whose name tag said “Deborah” she definitely looks the part of someone who works in a diner. To Neil’s surprise, Deborah doesn’t even glance at his scars. He supposes that in the middle of nowhere you see a lot of weirder things than some kid with scars.

“What can I get for you two?” Deborah asks looking down at her notepad.

Neil looks at her and smiles. “Just a black coffee for me.”

Andrew with his chin resting on his hand says, “Pancakes with syrup and a chocolate milkshake.” 

Deborah writes down their orders and tells them it’ll be a few minutes. There was no one else in the diner at this point aside from Andrew and Neil. It wasn’t hard to believe it wouldn’t take much time to bring out what they ordered. Just as promised their drinks and food came out a few minutes later. 

Once she left Andrew puts his usual unhealthy amount of syrup on his pancakes. Neil let his coffee cool for a bit before he started drinking it.

“Do you ever wonder if between your combination of smoking, drinking, and eating nothing but sugar will cause your health to decline?”

“It’s not like it matters. I work out. You’re literally there when I work out.” Andrew looks up at Neil, “Don’t forget that technically you smoke and drink, too. You’re no saint.”

Neil waves him off and takes a sip of his coffee. The blend is alright but he is tired and it’s what he needs to keep going. Andrew takes a while to drink his milkshake, but Neil doesn’t mind waiting. What did surprise Neil is that around 5:00 he receives a text. What surprises Andrew is that Neil had his phone on him.

“Who is texting you at this time of the day?” Andrew says with a mouth full of one of the last few bites of his pancakes.

“Nicky. Apparently he wants to know where we are.” Andrew rolled his eyes hearing this and at that moment Neil snapped a quick picture before Andrew could smack the phone out of his hands. After Andrew noticed he smacked Neil’s head lightly.

“ _Josten_.”

“What? I’m letting him know what we’re up to.” Neil sent the photo to Nicky with the caption: _road trip._

“By the way, today is the day Nicky heads off to Germany, right? That would make sense for him to be up right now.”

Andrew shrugs, “I don’t know my cousin’s plans. Ask him if you’re curious.” Neil sighs at Andrew’s indifference, but it’s not like it’s a pressing concern. He decides not to ask Nicky because he knows he’ll get a long series of texts about Erik if he asks.

As if right on cue, Neil gets an immediate message back from Nicky that consists of at least twelve exclamation points and nothing else. A few seconds later he sends the picture back, but in a group message with all of the foxes that were there his first year. The new message contains the photo Neil sent with Neil’s caption and Nicky’s commentary saying “LOOK HOW CUTE ANDREW IS!!! NEIL AND ANDREW ARE ON A ROAD TRIP!!!”

“Shit,” Neil mumbles. Andrew looks like he’s going to punch Neil. He doesn’t he instead gets up and goes to ask Deborah for the check and ends up paying while he’s up.

Despite it pushing 5:30 many of the foxes reply. Insisting Neil send photos from every place they go to. Neil can already tell that the foxes we’re about to place bets over where they went over the course of their road trip. He sighs, _what harm could it do?_ He replies back to them saying, _No way. Andrew will kill me if I send another picture. Especially one with him in it._ After getting many responses expressing their disappointment for the lack of pictures. Neil responds in turn, _Sorry for ruining a bet before it even started_. Neil feels Andrew tug on his jacket to get Neil to get up and leave.

Neil follows Andrew out to the car and hears Andrew say, “If you send anyone another picture of me, I will kill you.”

Neil looks fondly at Andrew, “How sweet of you. I _promise_ I won’t.”

Andrew takes his word. “Yes or no?”

“Yes.” Andrew holds the back of Neil’s neck and kisses him, leaning on the hood of the Maserati. Andrew deepens the kiss before stopping and saying, “Why do you drink bitter coffee it tastes disgusting.” Neil laughs at Andrew.

Andrew pulls out two cigarettes and lights them. They both take a drag before Neil goes back to their conversation. After the first drag Neil doesn’t bother taking a second. He keeps the cigarette close to his face to take the scent in.

“Alright, alright. But I don’t complain about your food choice.”

“Shut up, Josten. You did in the diner, you liar.”

“I know, I know,” Neil waves his hands dismissing the claim, “Don’t lie to a liar.”

After a minute of smoking quietly they both decide it’s time to leave and get in the car after stubbing out their cigarettes.

Andrew looks at Neil. “Directions.”

Neil scoffs at it not being posed as a question. “Let’s continue northwest for a while. Also, Andrew?”

Andrew turns to Neil. “What?”

Neil lets a slow smile form on his face. “Thank you.”

“132%” Andrew buckles his seat belt to turn away from Neil. Neil does the same.

When Andrew gets out of the parking lot and onto the road again Neil thinks out loud. “I jumped 5% within a few few days. Is that a new record?” He hums and leans his head to rest on the window when he gets what sounds like a growl in response from Andrew. Neil drifts off for a bit; Andrew turns the radio down to a level where it’s only white noise. Peaceful enough that Neil won’t wake up, but loud enough for Andrew to have something to help keep him awake.

About an hour later Neil wakes up from his nap as the sun begins to rise. He stretches out to the best of his ability while being in a car strapped in with a seatbelt. Neil turns to Andrew still focused on the road.

“Where are we?” Neil says, struggling through a yawn.

“Tennessee.” Andrew says slower than usual.

“Andrew, you’re tired and you know it. I would say ‘let me drive’ but I’m still tired. Let’s find some shitty motel and sleep for a while. Hopefully we can find one that has a working shower. I’ve been to enough motels to pick out which ones are a little less shittier than others.”

Andrew agrees with a hum. Neil looks up and points at a motel up ahead. “That one. It’s a local one, I don’t recognize it as a chain motel. The upkeep will be pretty good because it has to compete with chain motels.”

Andrew pulls into the parking lot and goes to pay for the motel while Neil grabs their duffle bags. The exchange doesn’t take long. Within a minute or two they are unlocking the door for their motel room.

Duffle bags are thrown on the floor as Andrew motions to Neil to get in bed before him. Andrew looks like he might pass out now that he has a bed in sight, but he doesn’t want to have Neil’s weight added to the bed after he gets in. Neil picks the side away from the wall so Andrew can sleep closest to the wall like he always does. They fall asleep inches apart, but not touching, while wearing the clothes they wore earlier. Jeans and t-shirts, they don’t bother changing into anything comfier, it’s not worth the energy. Within a few minutes they sleep hard considering that they are light sleepers. 

They sleep until eleven. Andrew wakes up first and slips out of bed to brush his teeth and wash his face. Neil wakes up shortly after to do the same. They each take turns taking quick showers. As if their minds were in sync, they both begin to change into a different outfit for the day. They dress facing away from each other, still respectful of each other’s boundaries.

Neil calls to Andrew over his shoulder, “Andrew, what are you wearing?” Neil realizes halfway through his sentence that it sounds like a sleazy text and draws it out to the point of losing its purpose.

“First of all, fuck off. Second of all, it doesn’t matter we’re just going to be driving all day.”

Neil hums in response. He pulls a short sleeve t-shirt on and a pair of black, sportswear sweatpants. He finishes up by putting on his armbands. Turning around as Andrew finishes up dressing Neil does a head to toe look over Andrew. Black skinny jeans, a gray t-shirt, and his armbands like Neil’s definitely looks good on him.

“Stop staring.” Andrew is too tired to put much effort into his threat. A yawn slipping out confirms this.

“I wasn’t staring,” Neil feigns innocence despite his obvious lie, “I was just thinking that it’s so _cute_ we have matching armbands.”

Andrew’s lip twitches. “I will take those armbands back and put them in a paper shredder if you don’t shut your mouth right now.”

Neil slowly steps closer to Andrew. Neil tilts his head to the side, tapping his index finger on his chin, as if wondering what he’ll say next. However, Andrew knows exactly what Neil is going to say.

“Make me.”

Andrew rises to the not so hidden challenge. He takes Neil’s hands and puts them up against the wall. It’s rough textured, not anything fancy. It’s a motel. He looks Neil straight in the eyes and when Neil smiles back looking like he’s about to say something Andrew shuts him up by kissing him like he means to bruise his lips. Neil’s fidgets his fingers to have them fit between Andrews. He taps his fingers on Andrews knuckles to tease him and Andrew bits at his lip in response. Neil taps once more before leaving his hands locked, intertwined with Andrews. Andrew pulls his mouth away after a few seconds longer. He looks into Neil’s eyes and then up to their hands. Neil taps his fingers once more. Andrew looks back to Neil and frowns, pulling away.

“Stop being a sap. We’re checking out.” Andrew turns away from Neil to grab their bags.

“You say that, but here you are being a gentleman. Grabbing my b-” before Neil can finish Andrew drops Neil’s bag. 

Neil laughs and picks it up and jogs to catch up so he can walk at Andrew’s pace. Neil opens the door for Andrew gesturing at Andrew to go before him. Andrew walks straight past Neil through the open door not listening to Neil as he goes on about being a perfect gentleman unafraid to take care of Andrew. Andrew tries to at least.

They check out at the same pace that they checked in. When Andrew unlocks the car, Neil opens the door for Andrew trying to continue on with being a ‘perfect gentleman’ in response, Andrew throws the keys at Neil. He moves towards the passenger seat. Neil stands with the keys in his hands looking at Andrew.

Andrew has a faint smirk tug at his lips as he speaks, “What? Wouldn’t a ‘perfect gentleman’ drive for the day.”

Neil knows he’s lost this round and gets into the driver’s seat. They get out of the parking lot and get back to the main road that will let them continue on with driving.

“Where to?” Neil leaves the answer up in the air. Andrew doesn’t answer. He looks out the window. 

“It looks like it’s going to rain.” An unhelpful answer, but more than Neil expects in the first place.

Neil taps his fingers on the steering wheel. “Alright we’ll just continue on our way as we’ve been going.” Andrew doesn’t respond which means that it’s fine with him.

It starts to drizzle like Andrew said it would within twenty minutes. Andrew huffs at this, being right. Neil makes sure to stay focused on the road seeing how he’s driving a nice car despite wanting to look at Andrew. Judging by the sound of Andrew hitting the window with his hand he probably made an expression that Andrew would say pissed him off. Neil doesn’t know what would be worse: Andrew’s response to Neil looking at him fondly or Andrew’s response to Neil crashing his car. Both are dangerous outcomes so Neil plays it safe and looks ahead.

Three hours later they’ve crossed just barely into Illinois. While it was drizzling on and off these past few hours, the sun started to shine a bit here. It was the perfect time to stop and get lunch.  
Neil and Andrew have a quick lunch with idle chatter before heading on the road again. After passing infinite cornfields Andrew motions for Neil let him drive which Neil gladly complies to. Andrew is calmer at the wheel than Neil. Neil doesn’t mind the view either. With Andrew driving Neil can easily steal glances his way and occasionally Andrew won’t notice. Neil drifts off in and out of consciousness for a long time.

When Neil wakes up it’s pitch black out aside from the headlights of the Maserati and the glowing buttons in the car. Neil glances over at Andrew.

“Where are we?” Neil asks struggling not to yawn.

“I’ve been telling you off and on for almost eight hours where we are.” Andrew shoots a glance at Neil.

Neil slumps over and puts his head on the dashboard. “What the hell are you talking about? Eight hours?”

“You’re just as talkative in your sleep as you are when you’re awake,” Andrew starts to gesture slightly with his hands as he continues, “You would ask every time you woke up ‘Where are we?’ and every time I would respond with ‘Missouri’ and you would grumble and go back to sleep.”

Neil tried to interject, but Andrew continued. “That was only the first three hours you were asleep. Then you tried talking to me. About exy. I shut that down immediately. You stopped talking for a while and I thought I had some peace and quiet and then you asked again, ‘Where are we?’ and I replied, yet again with ‘Missouri’ and you yelled back in your sleep _‘Why does Missouri go on forever?’_ and then I stopped talking to you.”

Neil gave a sheepish grin. Neil is aware of his sleep talking habit that shows up occasionally, but it doesn’t mean Neil doesn’t find it at least a little bit embarrassing. Neil’s silence makes Andrew sigh.

“We’re almost out of Missouri if it makes you feel a little less like shit.”

Neil lets his head drop and exhaled through his nose. “Somehow it does.”

Neil opens his phone after not looking at it in a while. Upon being opened he’s flooded with a myriad of texts from the foxes. There were many requests for pictures, along with many _stop ignoring me texts_ from Nicky, other foxes sent scatter texts. Renee sent a few nice text messages unrelated to pictures, wishing that he and Andrew have a good time and to ask him to finish the World War lll debate for her since they had plenty of time to discuss while on the road. She also mentioned she would like Neil to argue on her side. Neil smiles and makes note to text her back when he was a little more clear headed. Neil shakes his head thinking about how Renee remembered that they never finished that conversation his freshman year. Since Neil refused to be a tiebreaker back then, she chose now to have him finish the debate. Neil flipped his phone shut.

“Andrew, you need to rest.” Neil braces for Andrew to argue. Andrew rubs his temple, but the argument doesn’t come.

The problem that’s apparent as Andrew slows down, pulls over, and gestures out the window. They’re on a road that has no town in sight. Andrew stares at Neil with a face that screams, _What now genius?_

“Let’s take a smoke break,” Neil says opening up his car door knowing Andrew will follow and with the flick of a wrist he’ll be out with two cigarettes lit.

They sit on the hood of the Maserati. Neil thinks about how Matt would be screaming in pain right now, going on about how even touching the Maserati could possibly ruin its glory. Neil jolts back to reality when he feels Andrew’s hand on his neck. Andrew feels Neil’s reaction and glances at him.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asks wondering if the neck touch was too much when Neil is tired.

Neil hums back, “Yes.” Neil leans an inch away from resting his head on Andrew’s shoulders. “Yes or no?”

Andrew pauses, takes a drag, exhales near Neil’s face and says, “Yes.” Neil leans his head onto Andrew’s shoulder now that he has permission. 

Neil takes the moment in. The sky full of stars is beautiful, the road is clear with no one out driving, it’s serene. Neil takes a deep breath in and holds his breath before he exhales again.

Neil shifts his head just slightly to look at Andrew. He waits a moment before saying, “Andrew?” 

A few seconds later Andrew gives a noncommittal grunt.

“Did you stop by a gas station while I was asleep?”

“Doesn’t matter,” He brushes off.

“If it didn’t matter, I wouldn’t ask,” Neil shoots back.

Andrew furrows his brows looking down at Neil before responding. “Yeah. I went to the gas station while you were passed out.”

“Thanks.” Neil lowered his gaze.

“For what?”

“You bought my favorite cigarettes.” Neil holds his cigarette up in Andrew’s direction, “I like the smell of these more.”

“Coincidence,” Andrew flatlines. Neil knows it isn’t. To Andrew a cigarette is just a cigarette. He gets the cheapest ones he can get because he doesn’t care most of the time. To Neil a cigarette is only as good as its scent.

Neil makes a noise that shows that he’s skeptical about Andrew’s response. “Debatable.” Neil tosses his cigarette on the road not having enough energy to get up and stub it out himself.

“What’s to debate?”

“For starters, Renee asked me to finish the score for that World War lll debate you two had when I was a freshmen.”

Andrew shook his head, “You refused to be our tiebreaker what difference would it do now.”

“She didn’t ask me to be a tiebreaker. She’s hoping that I’ll pick up the argument and argue for her side.” Neil can tell Andrew is waiting for him to continue talking. “I’m not sure though. I haven’t thought about it. You two were the ones that were good at those talks.”

“It’s not hard to pick a side. It’s even easier to argue.”

“I can’t believe you just said the most Andrew Minyard thing ever. ‘It’s even easier to argue.’”

Andrew pops the back of Neil’s head with the hand that was resting on his neck a second before. Before Neil can complain Andrew speaks over him, “Are you going to grow a spine and pick a side or what?”

Neil turns to Andrew to meet his gaze. “I’m not sure. Before you kick my ass, let me explain.” Andrew continues looking at Neil, permission to continue talking. “I don’t want to pick sides. No matter who I pick, you’ll accuse me of lying.”

“I will.” Andrew says without a second passing. “There’s too much bias. Renee asked you to pick her side. If you picked her side I’d say you chose that because she asked you.”

“I understand that bias. Why would it be biased if I picked your side?”

Andrew looks at Neil with his head gesturing down and his eyes looking up. His body language is screaming _Are you stupid?_

“I don’t think I’ve heard a response,” Neil teases and leans in. He stops an inch away from Andrew, giving him the chance to back out.

Andrew throws his cigarette down without looking and leans in to kiss Neil. Neil’s hands find their way to Andrew’s hair as he leans further down onto the hood of the car. Andrew tastes like cigarette smoke. Kissing Andrew is dizzying even at a slow pace. Andrew’s hands trailing over Neil’s body with the same knowledge of every curve as Neil has for each of Andrew’s keys.

Andrew pulls away. “The halo effect, it’s a confirmation bias.”

Neil flashes a bright smile. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”

Andrew shoves his hand over Neil’s face. “Enough. Are you awake enough to drive?” Andrew gets off of the hood and slips into the passenger seat not waiting for an answer. 

Neil answers to the empty road, “Ah, sure I am. Thanks for asking, Andrew. You’re always so sweet.” None of Neil’s words carry any malice. Neil does what has been asked of him. He drives on through the night and finds a motel for them to throw themselves into and sleep for the night. 

The next day’s drive takes them across the border, finally out of Missouri, to Kansas. Driving with no destination in mind has put the two of them right in the middle of nowhere. Neil figures that it’s only in the middle of nowhere that you can find incredible stops _like this._

“What the hell is this?” Andrew says, slamming the car door shut. “I fell asleep for an hour. Where are we?” He follows Neil while waiting for his response.

Neil looks around at the few cars in the lot. They’re beat up, colorful, covered in words, and full of small trinkets. Neil had chatted up a waitress at a diner this morning getting ideas where to go while Andrew was in the bathroom. The waitress said _it’s not much to locals, but it might entertain you two._

“It’s the world’s largest collection of the world’s smallest versions of the world’s largest things traveling roadside attraction and museum.” It’s a mouthful and Neil can hardly believe he didn’t trip on any of the words.

“You’re shitting me.” Andrew begins to turn, but Neil speeds up to get in his way

“Andrew, we’ll spend like fifteen minutes here max. Let’s just look at some of the stuff. It’s not like we’ll ever go see the big versions, that’s for _tacky tourists._ ”

“Josten, I swear to fucking-”

“Great! Let’s go,” Neil says with a clap.

Neil walks up to the red and white bus and looks through the windows into the shelves with the world’s smallest attractions inside. Andrew begrudgingly looks into the windows as well. Every odd attraction there, only sized down to around six inches each. The words underneath state which attraction they mimic and where the real deal is located. The fact that someone spent so much time on all of these small versions astounds Neil. Andrew, on the other hand, doesn’t even shift his weight to his other foot.

Neil looks at the small ball of twine. He taps at the window absentmindedly and would have continued for longer if Andrew didn’t flick his temple.

“What?”

Andrew shifts his weight to his other foot, “That should be what I’m saying.”

“Oh, I was just thinking.”

“That’s a dangerous habit of yours.”

Neil shoots Andrew a look and gets a shrug in return. Neil sighs, “It’s kinda stupid, but I was thinking. What if we got cats some day?” Neil shakes his head and looks down before looking back at Andrew who was staring at him.

“You were just looking at the ball of twine and want a reason to steal it.”

Neil lets out a sharp laugh, “Of _course_. It’d be premature to steal it now, maybe in a few years? Hm, we have time.” Neil gives a warm smile to Andrew that Andrew immediately wants to wipe off Neil’s face.

Instead of punching him Andrew looks away and says, “Yes or no?”

Without pause Neil responds, “Yes.”

Andrew doesn’t look back at Neil when he grabs his hand to keep moving to another part of the roadside museum. He’s frowning as he has Neil’s hand in an almost death grip, but Neil feels like he’s about to melt. Neil taps at Andrew’s hand which makes Andrew loosen his grip. Neil intertwines his fingers with Andrew’s without word as they continue looking at the small attractions. Thirty minutes later they head back to the car to get back on the road.

Andrew sits behind the wheel and before Neil suggests a direction Andrew states, “South. I’m tired of east.”

Neil nods, “South it is. Oh, and Andrew?”

Andrew hums to let Neil know he’s listening.

“You never said _no_ to getting cats.”

Andrew turns up the volume on the stereo loud enough that Neil can’t bother him about the prospect of getting cats in the future again. Neil takes it as his cue to quiet down and let Andrew have time to himself, but he also knows he’s not being shot down.

Neil lets Andrew dictate the second wind of their trip. Andrew gave Neil exactly what he needed _a way out._ Andrew gave Neil time away from Palmetto to forget all about his nightmares keeping up in the early hours. He let him choose which direction he needed to go. He never said no. Andrew let Neil run while letting him know that he’s coming back, he’s coming _home_. Neil knows how much this trip has helped himself. He hasn’t had a single nightmare since they left. It’s freeing what time on the road with the right person can do for your health. It’s freeing knowing you have someplace and someone to go with and knowing that same person will be with you when you go home.

Going south seems like a blur for Neil. The landlocked states always seem the same to Neil. No water means one less way to leave. Neil isn’t looking for an active escape, but he can’t help but map them out. Escape is always on autopilot. It’s something Neil is unlearning even at his slow pace. Neil lets their venture south be completely out of his control. Three days traveling south without interruptions. 

Andrew says Neil’s name ending their silence. When Andrew has gotten Neil’s attention he says, “Do you have a place you feel like going?”

Neil makes a face at Andrew, “Do you?”

Andrew shrugs, “I don’t really care. What I do need to know is if we’re going to continue going south and if we’re planning on ending up in Mexico. I know you have a passport, but I don’t feel like explaining anything to the feds.”

Andrew is right, Neil legally has a passport now. He’s also right about how troublesome it would be to explain to the feds that they’re aimlessly going on a road trip because of a maelstrom of nightmares. Crossing borders would definitely tip the scales enough to have the feds contact them.

“The Alamo should be a city or two away right? I’ve never been sightseeing. We can go see that and then head back to Palmetto.”

Andrew raises an eyebrow at Neil’s suggestion to go sightseeing, but decides to go along with it anyway. Andrew has never actually been sightseeing either. The next few hours flow the same as the past week has. There is light chatter, Neil nodding off, the hum of the radio, the day goes on as Andrew drives. 

The Alamo isn’t as big as history class made it seem, it’s a lot smaller. Neil is the one to comment on it first.

“I bet that’s why they lost,” Andrew mumbles as he and Neil walk towards the building. “It’d be like shooting fish in a barrel.”

“I don’t actually know shit about the Alamo, history is Kevin’s forte.” Andrew nods agreeing that he doesn’t know that much about the landmark either.

The two make their way into the fort to look around. Neither know what one is supposed to do when sightseeing. Andrew points out some of the less fashionable tourists and compares them to how Neil looked when he first came to Palmetto. Neil frowns at a few of the remarks despite knowing how much truth they hold. He still barely has a fashion sense, but he’s learning slowly.

“I never had a fanny pack at least,” Neil states pointing at one of the tourists.

“You had your duffle bag which was pretty close.”

Neil crosses his arms, unable to think of a comeback. “I owned like, _eight_ things.”

Andrew’s smirk is nearly nonexistent, but winning against Neil in petty arguments like this were good enough to bring some form of a minuscule smile to Andrew’s face.

As they walk inside the fort Neil drags his hands across the stone walls. Neil considers how weird it is that anyone could think that stone walls would be enough to protect them from people who were dedicated to kill. That much couldn’t even protect Neil in his dreams. Yet somehow Neil feels protected by the person who brought him all this way to the fort. In a way, Neil can be seen as worse off, but leaning against Andrew makes Neil feel more solid than the walls of a fort ever could. Neil takes his hand off the wall and lowers it towards Andrew’s hand. He lets his fingers brush Andrew’s.

Andrew and Neil have gotten past saying “Yes or no?” nine out of ten times. Casual touches, occasional pecks has become a normal part of their daily routine. They know that it will always be a yes until it turns into a no. Neither are shy to vocalize their rare no’s. Holding hands in public is still a challenge. Occasionally Andrew will pull away and Neil is fine with that. He doesn’t want to make Andrew uncomfortable. He knows that. He’d rather have Andrew be completely comfortable.

Andrew stares ahead as he intertwines fingers with Neil. Neil smiles and looks around while Andrew continues looking bored. Andrew occasionally will look at the plaques and read about the losing battle that occurred here. Neil doesn’t bother. He doesn’t care about learning about the Alamo, what he cares about is sightseeing with Andrew at his side. Andrew squeezes Neil’s hand signalling it’s time to leave as boredom is written all over his face.

The hot sun beats down on the two as they walk outside and stand by the gates of the fort. Andrew pauses for only a short moment, lost in thought.

“What’s up?”

Andrew slowly meets Neil’s eyes. “Why the fuck do we ‘remember the Alamo’?”

“Wait, what?” Neil cannot for the life of him understand Andrew’s train of thought.

“Literally everyone died. They all lost.” Andrew’s stare pierces Neil’s gaze, “Why do we remember the Alamo.” It’s not a question despite its phrasing.

Neil looks like his world has _shattered_ over a single phrase drilled in his head from every American history class he has ever taken in his life. Neil’s grip on Andrew’s hands loosen as he puts his hands to the side of his face.

A panicked whisper quickly leaves Neil’s mouth, “Oh my god. Why _do_ we remember the Alamo? I can’t remember a single fucking thing about the damn place and we were just _there_. It is literally in our our line of sight right now. I’m-”

Andrew cuts Neil off with a hand on the back of his neck. “Calm the fuck down, Josten. I wouldn’t have said that bullshit if I knew you’d have a breakdown.”

Neil lifts his head up and says in a deep voice, “This isn’t a breakdown, Andrew. This is a _life crisis_.”

Andrew pulls Neil along by his neck back to the car. Andrew pulls out of the parking lot as Neil looks at the Alamo hoping to find answers that he will never find. Andrew lightly pops him on the back of the head.

It’s been a few days since “The Alamo Incident” and driving on the open road has done wonders to clear Neil’s head. When they stop for gas they both get out of the car. Andrew to fill up the tank and Neil to go into the gas station and get a few snacks and some drinks. They both do their separate tasks and on the way out Neil spots a cat. He inches his way towards it and holds his hand out, letting the cat sniff it. As the cat rubs on Neil, Neil’s face lights up.

Neil calls out, “Andrew! Look!”

Andrew takes a few steps closer to Neil and the stray and tilts his head as if he is saying, _What’s to look at?_ Neil frowns when Andrew doesn’t have the same enthusiasm about a stray cat taking a liking to him. He wasn’t expecting much anyway.

Andrew sighs after Neil looks at him waiting for him to actually speak. “What about it?”

“I like cats.”

“That’s it?”

“Kinda. I wish we could take this little guy back to Palmetto. Wymack would kill us though.” Neil continues to rub the cat behind the ears. The cat purring loudly in response. “Let’s get one after we graduate.” Neil smiles when he looks at Andrew.

Andrew tilts his head to the side, not a response.

“Yes or no?”

“Neil that’s not how that question _works_.”

Neil pouts his lips just barely. “Well, why not?”

Andrew bends down, eye level with Neil. He puts his hand on the back of Neil’s neck as he says, “It works like this, Yes or no?”

Neil smiles and leans in as he says, “Yes.” It’s a tender kiss and Neil wishes it could last longer before Andrew pulls away.

“It does not work for, ‘Andrew, can we get a cat?’”

“I don’t see why it can’t work for both.” Andrew pulls on Neil’s hood to get him to head back to the car now that the tank is full. As they continue on an hour later Neil turns the radio down. Andrew glances at Neil for a second, expecting Neil to say something.

“You never said no.”

Andrew knows what Neil means, but responds with, “About what?” anyway.

Neil rests his hands on the dashboard and leans his head over to rest on them. “You know _exactly_ what I’m talking about.”

“I’m afraid not.” Andrew doesn’t spare a glance Neil’s way because he knows meeting Neil’s eyes would send his heart beating faster than it already is. Neil is practically saying he wants to be in Andrew’s life past Palmetto. That he wants to have a domestic life with Andrew. Andrew’s insides are eating him inside out. It’s not that he feels his stomach churning, or his gut wrench, what makes his insides go haywire is his heart. How his heart is already beating fast at the idea of living with Neil and the fact that _Neil wants it as well_. Andrew’s facade is seen right through by Neil, but Neil knows not to push.

Neil exhales a deep breath, not in frustration, but with hope for his future that he didn’t think he would ever have. Neil smiles at Andrew.

“I hate you,” Andrew spits out. Neil’s warm gaze doesn’t leave. His head leaning on his hands reminds Andrew of Neil’s first year at Palmetto. It reminds him of the bus ride where Neil asked him to stand down. To show he wouldn’t run and like he said, he hadn’t. Right now, Neil wanted to do anything, but run.

“I hate you so much,” Andrew said through gritted teeth.

Neil’s eyes were half open. “Really? How much do you hate me?” The slow way Neil was speaking made Neil’s voice feel like home. 

Andrew’s hands squeezed on the wheel, knuckles going white. “With every inch of my being.”

Neil doesn’t comment on how few inches that is like he normally does. He takes one of Andrew’s hands off the wheel slowly to interlace their fingers again. Despite his tight grip on the wheel Andrew doesn’t resist and Neil takes that as permission to carefully kiss his knuckles before resting their hands between the two of them.

“I’m gonna sleep for a bit. Let me know when you find a place for us to stay the night, okay?” Neil shuts his eyes when Andrew squeezes his hand to signal that he will. Neil sighs feeling like he’s the safest he’s ever been in his life.

A state later flicks Neil’s head, waking him up. “Time to get up.”

“You found a hotel?” Neil says after blinking his eyes open and then lets out a yawn.

“We’re getting dinner first.” Andrew already pulled into the parking lot for an obviously nice looking restaurant.

Neil looks at Andrew and laughs lightly. “This is out of character for you.”

Andrew opens the door and doesn’t bother looking back to tell Neil, “I’m tired of eating greasy diner food.” Neil accepts the answer, but is openly excited nonetheless.

The restaurant is nice. It doesn’t scream romantic either. It’s not darkly lit, no candles or flowers, but it definitely has a fancier vibe to it than Neil is used to. Neil’s been feeling much more relaxed since they started this trip and now he’s feeling like everything is falling together, even though it’s just dinner at a nice restaurant. The two are shown to their table and take their seats that already have glasses of water waiting for them at the table.

“Andrew, this place is _nice_.” Neil looks around obviously surprised that Andrew decided to go to a restaurant like this.

“I have fucking taste. When we get back to Palmetto the food’s going to be mediocre at best.” Andrew rests his head on his hand. He doesn’t bother looking at Neil because he knows exactly how Neil is looking at him. “Stop staring.”

“Or _what?_ ”

Andrew lifts up his spoon and points it at Neil. “I’ll gouge your eyes out with a spoon.” 

Neil’s smile is sleazy as he says, “ _Kinky._ ”

Andrew drops the spoon, puts his hands on the table, and starts to stand up out of his seat. Neil puts his hand over one of Andrew’s as if saying, _Not so fast_. Andrew looks down at him with his usual bored look and sits down. He doesn’t pull his hand away, he lets Neil keep his hand resting over his own. Neil begins to rub his thumb across Andrew’s hand.

“Don’t get carried away.” Neil takes his cue not to push it and settles for holding Andrew’s hand with a loose grip. There aren’t too many people in the restaurant and the two of them are in a corner mostly out of view from the other tables. Neil can see why he’s getting away with this much. Neil and Andrew hold hands from time to time, but almost never with an audience. Holding Andrew’s hand in a nice restaurant would have never crossed Neil’s mind. He likes it.

When the waiter comes by he pays no mind to Andrew and Neil holding hands. Most likely do to Andrew staring at him with a deadly look. Neil decides on the cheapest food on the menu, knowing Andrew will pay without saying anything makes him feel a bit guilty. Andrew orders a gourmet dessert which Neil expects him to do. The two of them share their food almost all the time so they’ll each get a bit of both. Neil usually doesn’t eat too much of the dessert. Sweet stuff isn’t for him.

In the middle of the meal an idea pops into Neil’s head. “Hey, Andrew.”

Andrew glances up at Neil and Neil takes it as his cue to continue.

“Let’s stay in a nice hotel. It’s been nearly two weeks and we’re getting close to South Carolina. We’ve only really stayed in shitty motels so far. Let’s have a nice ending.”

Andrew flicked his eyes up looking for the right words. Neil almost began to start again with reasons they should but Andrew spoke first, “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Are you changing your mind?”

Neil shakes his head quickly. “No, no. I just didn’t expect you to agree that easily.”

“I know it’s hard to believe, Josten, but I too don’t always want to sleep in motels.”

Neil does his best to hide his smile, but it’s becoming harder by the second. “You know, when my mom and I were on the run we never stayed in fancy hotels.”

“Never.” Andrew isn’t surprised, but he lets Neil know he can continue the conversation without it being solely one sided.

“Never. My mom thought it’d be too much money to drop.”

“Of course. Seeing as you found your fortune laying on the ground if I remember correctly.” Neil laughs _hard_. It was an offhanded comment he made to Andrew his freshman year to get him off his back. Andrew sighs at Neil’s laughter. Andrew isn’t the laughing type, but he doesn’t mind seeing Neil laugh. Knowing he’s the cause of it turns a switch on inside of him. To what, he doesn’t know, but he doesn’t hate it.

“Yeah, off of the ground. How did you know?” Neil rests his head on his hand and leans in closer to Andrew.

Andrew brings a hand up to his temple and taps it twice with his index finger. “I never forget anything. Sadly that applies to your stupid mouth too.”

“You like my stupid mouth.”

Andrew looks at Neil for five seconds with no expression on his face while Neil cracks another smile. “So your mom was stingy. What about it?”

“I don’t know really. I just, I’m excited I guess? I’m doing something I’ve never done and that’s exciting.” Neil looks at the other patrons in the restaurant. They’re going on with their lives without ever having felt the constant fear Neil felt for eight years. He isn’t one of them, but he’s learning. He’s learning with Andrew there every step of the way.

Andrew hums to see if Neil is done with the conversation. Neil decides he isn’t and continues. “Before Palmetto, I hadn’t slept on a bed in over a year. Even when I did it was really small and my mom and I would share it.”

“What, are you asking if we can get a king size bed at the hotel?”

Before Neil can answer the waiter comes back to ask how their meal went. Neil responds with the normal pleasantries. The waiter leaves the check with them and takes their plates away. Neil looks back at Andrew with his mouth slightly open. Andrew has his arms crossed waiting for Neil’s answer.

Neil closes his mouth and then opens it again. “Yeah. I’d really like that.”

Andrew nods in response and leaves enough cash on the table for the tip to be included that way they can leave without the waiter interrupting them again. Neil feels like it’s the best dinner he’s ever had.

Twenty minutes later they find a hotel that they know will have nice rooms. It’s late at night by the time they make it into the lobby. It’s beautiful. Neil takes Andrew’s bag with him to sit in one of the chairs in the middle of the lobby while Andrew gets them a room. Neil is tired and shuts his eyes for a moment’s rest. 

The woman at the desk doesn’t hesitate to ask Andrew what type of room he would like. She asks the other usual questions needed to get a hotel room setup.

“We want a room with a king sized bed.” 

The woman saw the two of them walking in together and only now looks at Neil in detail. Her eyes open wide as she looks at his burns and scars. She freezes immediately, Neil with his eyes shut, doesn’t notice. Andrew, on the other hand, does. He becomes livid.

Andrew slams his hand down on the counter and through gritted teeth hisses, “A room with a king sized bed. _Now_.”

The woman at the desk jolts and quickly gets the cards for the room in Andrew’s hand after she puts the information needed into the computer. Andrew walks away after staring daggers at the woman who dared to look at Neil like he was a freak.

Andrew tugs Neil up by the hand and squeezes it with ferocious strength. Neil is on his feet stumbling, being dragged by Andrew to the elevator. Andrew slams the button to signal the elevator to pick them up. As they wait, Andrew’s grip doesn’t loosen at all, Neil can see that Andrew’s shoulders are tense with rage that others might miss with his seemingly collected face. Neil knows better than to ask him about what happened that set Andrew off. That doesn’t stop him from looking at Andrew and lifting his eyebrows up wondering if he’ll get a response.

Andrew looks to the digital sign showing the floors that they continue to travel up. Not taking his eyes off of them he growls, “I was one minute away from committing murder in the lobby.”

Neil finally squeezes back on Andrew’s hand to let him know that regardless of the reason he’s fine and won’t push it further than that. 

They exit the elevator and walk a few doors down to their room. Andrew swipes the card and opens the door, still holding Neil’s hand like if he lets go of it he’ll lose him. Neil quickly speeds up to match Andrew’s pace and looks around the room .

“Andrew, this is _incredible_.” Andrew doesn’t comment, but he makes his way over to the complimentary candy that will cost them way too much money, but Andrew obviously doesn’t care. He rips open the bag of M &M’s and eats them one at a time. Neil thinks about commenting on it, but shakes his head before setting down their bags and sitting on the side of the bed closest to the door. He knows to let Andrew have the side closest to the wall.

Neil’s side of the bed gives him a clear view to the bathroom which he decides to explore. In the bathroom is a beautiful sink with a big mirror, a toilet that is way too pretty to be a toilet, and a big bath tub. Neil tries to remember the last time he took a real bath. His mom was a fan of quick showers and it carried over to Neil forming the same habit. Neil begins to draw a bath just because he can. He can take a bath because he feels like it. Nothing is holding him back. He has all the time in the world.

Andrew pads into the bathroom. He’s still working on his bag of M&M's when he cocks his head to the side.

“I haven’t taken a bath since I was a kid,” Neil shrugs, “I wanted to try it out. You have to admit that this bathtub looks really nice.”

Andrew shrugs and turns back to the room. “I’m going to grab drinks from the mini bar. Do you want anything?” Neil shakes his head no. 

The tub fills up and Neil strips and then proceeds to get in the tub. Neil sits down, stretches out, and closes his eyes. It feels heavenly. Warm water soaking his skin and there is no rush to get clean and get out as quick as possible. He feels the tension in his body loosen. He closes his eyes for a minute and it feels like an eternity. It feels like a very pleasant eternity.

“You’re going to drown if you fall asleep in there.” Andrew had slipped into the bathroom without Neil noticing.

Neil doesn’t look up, his eyes are still closed. “I’m not going to lie, this would be a peaceful way to go.” Neil looks up to see Andrew taking off his bands and then his shirt. He looks over at Neil before Neil manages to speak, “Andrew?” Neil sits up.

“Move over.” Andrew continues to strip down until he’s naked and Neil scoots over, clearly in shock. “Do you not want me to come in?”

“No of course I want you to come in.”

Andrew nods and slowly gets into the water. He looks at Neil and then turns to face away from him. He slowly leans back to rest against Neil’s chest and closes his eyes. Neil holds his breath and freezes up, not knowing what to do.

“Is that a no?”

“Andrew, it’s definitely a yes.” Neil is still unsure what to do. He tries to accommodate Andrew as best as he can, but he still has no clue what to do with his arms. Andrew glances back at him like he’s an idiot before he takes Neils arms and wraps them around his abdomen.

“Only here.”

“Okay.” Neil leans down and nuzzles into Andrew’s neck. He places a light kiss before smiling into it. Andrew puts a bit more of his weight on Neil and closes his eyes. They’re both content with staying like this. It’s been a long day, a long week and a half, a long month, neither feel the need to go any further tonight. Moments like these are rare for them. Neither of them feel the need to talk. Their breathing slowly begins to match.

“Andrew, if you close your eyes like that and fall asleep, you’re going to drown.” For once Andrew is slightly amused at his words being flung back at him.

“I’d take you with me.” Neil’s smile is sickeningly sweet and can be felt against the skin on Andrew’s neck. He doesn’t bother commenting on it like he usually would. They’re both tired and the silence says more than either of them could express with words. Neil occasionally hums. Making melodies that don’t exist and will never be remembered, but the vibrations Andrew feels will last a lifetime. Neil kisses Andrew behind his ears and feels Andrew shiver in response to being kissed in such a sensitive area. 

When the water goes from a comfortable heat to lukewarm they silently agree that it’s a good time to get out of the bathtub. They both dry off and pull on boxers and don’t bother with shirts or armbands. They climb into bed and despite having a king sized bed they sleep as close as they do back at Palmetto. They each turn out the light and once Andrew shuts his eyes, Neil can’t help but stare. 

“Hey Andrew,” Neil whispers.

“What?” Andrew doesn’t bother lifting his head off his pillow.

“Can we stay another night here?”

Andrew only takes a few seconds to respond. “I haven’t cleared out the mini bar yet. We may as well.” It’s a bullshit reason and Neil is well aware of that. Andrew, in turn, is well aware that Neil sees right through his bullshit reason.

Neil nods and slips his hand next to Andrew’s, a silent invitation to hold hands if Andrew wants to. Neil expects maybe hooking pinkies together at most, but is surprised that Andrew takes Neil’s hands and laces their fingers together. His squeeze is almost nonexistent, but to Neil it carries incredible weight. Neil has the best night’s sleep he’s had in years.

Waking up the next morning both of them let themselves laze around. They don’t have to rush to check out of the hotel as they both agreed that they will stay another night. They didn’t discuss what they would do the next day and don’t have the concern to figure it out now. It’s passed the complimentary breakfast hour, but soon both of them start to feel hungry.

Andrew, looking up at the ceiling, asks Neil if he wants to find a place to eat breakfast.

Neil thinks about it for a second. “I kinda just want to stay in the hotel all day.”

“Alright.” Andrew and Neil leave a few minutes without words hanging in the air. “We’ll order room service.”

Neil turns to face Andrew. “That sounds good to me.” Breakfast may sound good, but Andrew agreeing to stay in the hotel sounds even better. Neil takes in Andrew’s face, his eyes trying their best to stay open, his mouth slightly open letting air in and out, it’s all he needs.

Andrew turns to look at Neil. “Are you going to order the food or just stare at me?”

“I can multitask.” Andrew’s stare tells him that multitasking is not an option. 

Neil rolls over to look at the menu and figure out what he wants. Andrew doesn’t bother looking and tells Neil to order for him. Neil decides on an omelette and gets Andrew french toast. Andrew doesn’t say anything while Neil orders for the both of them on the phone signalling that Neil chose well. Neil also orders a few juices for the two of them to drink. 

When room service arrives the devour their food. It’s as good as last night’s dinner at the restaurant. Neil swears he can almost see Andrew smiling while he eats his french toast. Neil leaves their dishes outside the door and crawls back into bed close to Andrew. They’re as close to upright as they’ll be, leaning on the pillows. The television is playing a movie that neither are really interested in, but Neil keeps his focus on it regardless.

Neil says in a hushed voice, “How come staying in a hotel makes everything so much more exciting? Watching a movie I couldn’t care less about: Exciting. Taking a bath: Exciting. Eating breakfast: Exciting. I just don’t get it.”

Somehow Andrew can’t find himself looking away from the screen. “What, would you rather it be excruciatingly boring?” 

“No.” Neil slowly rests his head on Andrew’s shoulder. He’s testing the waters to see if this is okay first thing in the morning. When Andrew slides his arm around Neil and pulls him an inch closer. Neil nearly melts. “I’m having a lot of fun.”

“I’m going to tell Kevin that you think doing nothing all day is more fun than playing exy.”

“Don’t tempt me to get up and go find a local court.” Neil says it with enough cheer in his voice that Andrew pulls him over enough to have their hips touch saying, _You’re not going anywhere._

Neil closes his eyes and takes in Andrew’s body heat. This entire trip has been softer for them than usual. It reminds Neil of how Nicky described what being with Erik was like. Neil thinks about this dip into domesticity he and Andrew are in right now. Andrew has been careful not to pull anything on a trip that is all about letting Neil find his footing and heal properly. This isn’t the time for either of them to destress in their normal manner. Neither of them have the desire to be this way _forever_ , but for Neil, this week and a half of Andrew just being at his side and showing other ways he cares for Neil has given Neil the relief he so desperately needed.

Neil keeps his eyes closed when he whispers into Andrew’s ear, “Andrew, I am so addicted to everything about you.”

Andrew tenses up slightly. Andrew looks down at Neil who has his eyes shut and is nuzzling into his neck, not looking for an answer. Andrew squeezes Neil’s side and doesn’t bother raising the percentage because it would shoot up by the thousands. Instead, Andrew does something he’s never done before. Andrew slowly rests his head on top of Neil’s that is currently nuzzled between his neck and shoulder. It starts with the lightest of touches, he almost backs out when he feels Neil’s hair on his cheek, when he feels his heart racing faster than ever before. When Neil slowly smiles into Andrew’s neck and Andrew rests his head with his full weight onto Neil’s. They both stay silent and fall asleep to a movie neither of them know the name to.

They sleep for two hours. Andrew taps his fingers that are still currently around Neil’s waist to let him know they should get up. Both of them are light sleepers which makes it is enough to wake Neil up. Neil lifts his head and presses a light kiss on Andrew’s cheek before sitting up straight. Andrew still hasn’t moved his arm out from behind Neil while they take a minute to wake up. The digital clock on the nightstand shows that it’s 12:38 in the afternoon. Both of them feel hungry enough to get lunch.

“Do you still want to only hang out in the hotel room?” 

Neil takes a few seconds to think about it. “I’m not sure. We could go see if there’s a restaurant downstairs. A place like this has to have a restaurant.”

Andrew nods and gets out of bed. They silently brush their teeth, wash their faces, and put clothes on before they head out. When they walk out of the room Neil looks around more taking the hotel’s decor in. He was too tired last night to pay attention to it and Andrew dragged him off when he suddenly became angry in the lobby. With mirrors everywhere and and chairs that had to be comfortable, it definitely is the nice hotel that Neil suggested he and Andrew finish up their trip with.

When they sit down at their table, covered with a white tablecloth, Andrew moves the flowers in the center of the table to another table. 

“Aw, Andrew, you wanted to see my face better,” Neil teases.

“What I wanted to do was get rid of the flowers because this isn’t a date. We’re just getting lunch.”

“You are just _charming_ as always,” Neil says with an exaggerated dreamy sigh.

“I should have slapped them off the table.”

Neil laughs and leans back. “Do you know what you’re getting?”

Andrew nods. “There’s some sort of buffet. There’s a table with desserts that look good.”

Neil had expected as much. “I think I’m getting that, too. There was some fruit that looked nice and I haven’t had any fruit in a while. I didn’t really trust any of the greasy diners to have fresh fruit.”

“They had fruit pies,” Andrew points out as they walk to the buffet.

“I thought about trying those, but I just couldn’t do it. I don’t think we went to a place that didn’t look like the desserts would give me a heart attack.” The two go their separate ways piling on food onto their plates.

When they sit back down Andrew says between a few bites, “We can probably find a place that serves your ‘healthy pie’ when we get closer to Palmetto.”

Neil nods while eating a bite of pineapple. The thought of them getting closer to Palmetto makes him a bit sad, but the promise of Andrew looking for a place with healthier desserts distracts him from becoming too depressed over it. They focus on eating their meals and don’t bother with too much conversation. They’re too hungry to talk about nothing in particular. Andrew has gotten up three times so far to get different desserts and each time Neil laughs quietly when Andrew gets up. Neil asks Andrew each time what type of cake it is and each time Andrew takes a fork full and hands it to Neil to try. Neil isn’t really familiar with the flavors but each taste good, but he could never eat more than a bite or two of each.

They decide to head back up to the room and silently agree to keep the same plan as they had yesterday. They’ll laze around in bed, watch a movie, have room service, and whatever else pops up if they feel like it. This trip has been _go go go_ , but Neil isn’t complaining. This is the first time he’s traveling and constantly moving long distance by choice and it’s with Andrew. Going back to Palmetto will soon be just as fast paced. Summer practices will eventually start up and Neil will have to work his ass off to train the freshman. The soft mattress of the bed, Andrew’s heat, and Andrew’s smell of cigarettes and whiskey are so incredibly comforting. 

After watching a movie without really caring about the movie itself Neil suggests that they should try out the pool that the hotel has open.

“You want to go to the outdoor pool at eleven at night?” 

Despite Andrew’s tone Neil isn’t phased. “I just said that, didn’t I?”

“What possessed you to want to go swimming this late?” Andrew sighs.

Neil pauses, “I don’t really know to be honest. It’s late out, no one will be there.” Andrew sees Neil unknowingly playing with the hem of his shirt. Neil means that he can go swimming without his shirt on and not feel self conscious about all of his scars.

“Fine,” Andrew says. Neil whips his head at Andrew surprised that he’s agreed. Before Neil can say anything Andrew starts again, “Just know that I can’t swim.”

“Wait, what? You can’t swim?”

“Do I need to repeat myself?” Andrew takes Neil’s chin and holds it tight. “I cannot swim.”

Neil’s dumbfounded look causes Andrew to talk a deep breath in and out before he begins to explain. Neil can feel how tense Andrew’s hand is to know it’s bordering a touchy subject.

“I never learned how to swim when I lived in any of my foster homes. Cass wanted Drake to teach me at the local pool, but I always refused. I lied and said I was afraid of water.” 

Neil feels a pang in his heart. Andrew avoids speaking about his foster life, especially his time with Cass, as much as he can. Neil heard in incredible detail what Andrew’s life was like at Cass’ house during Aaron’s trial. He never asks or expects Andrew to reveal anymore of his life before moving to Columbia. Neil knows that Andrew said this out of his own choice and he’s being trusted with this small bit of information of Andrew’s past.

Neil speaks quietly, “I can teach you.”

Andrew tilts his head, his hand still cupping Neil’s chin. “You?”

“Yeah, me. Did I ever tell you I learned to swim when my mom threw me into a pool and told me to either swim or drown?”

“If those are your methods I think I’m going to pass.”

“My mom wasn’t in the pool with me so, unlike when I learned, someone can actually be there to help you. Also I don’t think I would ever try throwing you. Too dangerous.”

Andrew exhaled through his nose, “Glad you know what’s dangerous and what isn’t.” Andrew lets go of Neil’s chin. He gets up and motions his head for Neil to get ready.

Within ten minutes they arrive at the pool. It’s as Neil had suspected, they are the only ones there this late at night. Andrew sees the relief on Neil’s face when he realizes no one would be there to stare at his scars.

They take off their shirts, armbands, and pants to go swimming. Neither had expected to go swimming during their trip so they just decide to swim in their boxers. They toss their clothes onto one of the chairs that are used for sunbathing. Neil jumps into the pool while Andrew walks carefully to the edge and stops.

Neil’s head pops out of the water, hair now completely drenched and completely slicked back so it doesn’t get in his face. Neil smiles up at Andrew. “Ready to learn how to swim?”

“I’m not jumping in.” Andrew walks to the steps while Neil swims over to them. Neil is content with going at Andrew’s pace.

Andrew slowly steps in the water step by step, grimacing each step because of the temperature. It’s not freezing, but it’s not warm by any means.

Neil shrugs, “It’s easier to get used to it if you just jump in.”

“I’m pretty sure you said you wouldn’t be using the ‘swim or drown’ technique. Correct me if I’m wrong?” Andrew steps off the last step as Neil swims closer to him. They’re in the four feet area of the pool and both can stand without having to tread water.

“You’re not wrong, I was just stating facts.”

“That’s not a fact, that’s an opinion.”

Neil groans, “Are we really going to play this game?” Neil reaches his hands out waiting for Andrew to take them. 

“Is that necessary?”

Neil smiles, “It’s either this or I can hold you by your torso.” Andrew reluctantly takes Neil’s hands into his own.

Neil does his best to explain the basics to Andrew. Neil decides the first thing Andrew should tackle is treading water. Neil stays on the four feet area but holds Andrew’s hands while Andrew is in the five feet area. Andrew hates having to rely so much on Neil and hanging onto Neil while learning, but he appreciates not drowning more. He wants to punch that endearing look off of Neil’s face and tell him to stop staring, but treading water takes most of his focus.

“Andrew, you have officially _mastered_ the art of treading water,” Neil says while pulling Andrew back to the shallow zone. “You want to learn how to kick and use your arms next?”

“I’m pretty fucking sure I know how to kick your ass, but if you’re offering a lesson for it, _by all means, Josten._ ”

Neil can tell that Andrew isn’t going to say it, but he knows that Andrew is tired from treading water. They both make their way to the steps and sit still in the water. “We can put off our next lesson until we get back to campus, you know? We do have a pool there.”

“I’m not swimming there during the day.” Andrew looks out at the empty pool. Andrew isn’t embarrassed about the fact he can’t swim. What he doesn’t want is people knowing one of his weaknesses.

“Neither am I.” Neil smiles, “But I _think_ I know a few people who can pick locks.”

Andrew nods. It’s a silent promise that they’ll continue with this when they get back.

The two of them dry off and make their way back to the room. Each quietly take separate showers too tired to do much of anything after swimming. It was a big step for each of them. Neil got to swim in public without covering up his scars and Andrew got to learn how to swim while revealing things about his past. 

After swimming Andrew keeps his promise to drink from the pricey mini bar. Andrew tosses a few small, colorful bottles for himself on to the bed lightly. He looks up at Neil silently asking if he wants to drink with him. Neil nods and Andrew tosses another bottle onto the bed which lands slightly closer to Neil than the rest. Andrew climbs back into bed next to Neil.

They both open their respective bottles and clink their drinks together in a toast about nothing. It’s strong alcohol that both of them are drinking. After a few drinks the television goes from being watched to being something fuzzy in the background. Neil is comfortable drinking with Andrew and Andrew doesn’t mind that Neil grabs one of the drinks he got for himself. Neil’s reaction to the bitter drink makes it worth it.

Neil grimaces and sticks his tongue out after a swig of particularly strong whiskey. “Dear _god_ ,” Neil slurs out. “Andrew, how the _fuck_ can you drink this _garbage_ with a straight face? I want to drop _dead_.”

Andrew takes it out of Neil’s hands with ease and has a sip, “It’s an acquired taste.”

Neil points at Andrew. “ _You’re an acquired taste!_ ”

“Has anyone ever let you know how much of a light weight you are?” Andrew raises an eyebrow at Neil who is leaning heavily on Andrew’s shoulder. Andrew takes Neil’s drink away from him before Neil spills it on him.

Neil laughs into Andrew’s shoulder, “I _only_ drink around _you_.” Neil looks up and gives Andrew a goofy smile. Andrew uses his index finger to push Neil’s cheek trying to get rid of the smile plastered on Neil’s face.

Despite Andrew’s finger attempt to push Neil’s smile away and subsequently shut him up Neil still manages to speak. “Can’t get rid of my smile _that easy_ , pretty boy.”

Andrew raises an eyebrow. “Oh? Pretty boy?”

“Yeah you.” When Andrew takes his hand back Neil smiles with his mouth shut. “You’re like the _prettiest_ person I know. Have you seen yourself? Do you need me to spell it out?”

Andrew can handle a lot of things. He can handle Neil during his breakdowns. He can handle Neil on the court demanding everything Andrew’s got. He can handle a lot of Neil’s stupidity, but he doesn’t know how to handle Neil giving him earnest compliments. Andrew opens his mouth to tell Neil that no he doesn’t need to continue, but Neil is faster than Andrew.

“Your eyes are so intense I swear they could probably like, I don’t know, stab someone? I don’t know how to explain it but I wanna look at them forever.” Neil keeps babbling, “Your hands are really rough with callouses, but I really love how they feel. They’re strong seeing all they’ve been through. They have scars like mine. It makes me feel less lonely.”

“Neil-” Andrew starts, but is immediately shut up by Neil’s index finger being pressed on his mouth and Neil hissing at him to be quiet.

“I like your hair, especially when I’m running my fingers through it. It’s one of my favorite things in the world. I’d rather feel your hair than silk or velvet.” Neil curls up and rests his head on his knees. His cheek is squished on his knee while looking at Andrew’s face. “I like how close we are. That we don’t need to say it or constantly be touching. I like that being just nearby is enough. I like it when we do touch, too. I like everything. I really like everything about you.” Neil’s eyes are slowly fluttering shut the sleepier he gets.

Andrew mumbles to himself about how stupid Neil is while he’s cleaning up the drinks from the bed and turning out the lights. He mumbles a new percentage that Neil can’t hear on account of the fact he’s barely conscious and has drunk himself silly. Andrew climbs into bed and forces Neil to sleep laid out and not in his curled up position he put himself into while talking.

Despite their late night they both manage to wake up early on account of being early risers. Neil has a bit of a headache from drinking last night and Andrew, like usual, is unaffected by the alcohol that was in his system. Andrew doesn’t bother bringing up anything Neil said last night. Neil doesn’t seem to remember the goofy things he does when he drinks and Andrew is grateful for that.

They pack their few things and leave the room. When they get in the elevator Andrew brushes his hand against Neil’s and says a quiet yes or no. Neil responds with his usual yes and Andrew tightly grabs his hand in anticipation for possibly meeting stares like the night he and Neil checked in. With Neil next to him and Andrew’s intense glare, no such altercations happen again and they begin their final leg of their trip.

Twenty minutes away from the hotel Neil starts, “So,” he exhales. “I guess we head straight back to Palmetto from here, right?”

“Are you stupid?”

Neil is taken aback by Andrew’s quick response. “Probably. I always need things spelled out apparently.”

Andrew side eyes Neil and doesn’t dismiss his response. “We still have one more stop.”

Neil cocks his head. “We probably have a day’s worth of driving until we reach Palmetto. Where are we stopping?”

Andrew taps his temple. “I distinctly remember you grumbling like a child about unhealthy desserts in the last twenty four hours.”

Neil looks out the window and smiles. “How sweet, you remembered,” Neil says in a mocking tone.

“I also remember how much I want to knock your teeth out every time you speak.”

Neil gasps and covers his mouth, “I am _hurt_.”

Andrew doesn’t take his eyes off of the road. “Oh no, what a tragedy.”

Neil leans against the window and says, “Well it wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Knowing you, it probably won’t be the last time either.”

They drive for hours getting closer to Palmetto still keeping their eyes out for a diner that doesn’t look like it will give them a heart attack. The radio is playing quietly, neither pay attention to it. Eventually Neil spots a bakery that catches his eye. 

“Nevermind a diner, why not a bakery? Let’s go there.” 

Andrew parks the car. “This bakery doesn’t look any healthier than a diner. It’s called the Sugar Sanctuary.”

Neil shrugs. “It probably isn’t. I think I’ll just live with the fact that the only healthy pie I’ll ever eat, will be one I make myself. And I don’t feel like making one myself.”

The bell chimes when the two walk into the little bakery. They continue talking, slightly quieter hoping that the employees won’t hear them.

“Maybe Abby can teach us how to make a healthy pie?” Neil taps his chin looking at the display case.

“Us?” Andrew idly looks at a triple chocolate cake.

“Yeah, _us_. You’re a better cook than I am. I’m positive I’ll mess it up somehow.” Neil decides on the blueberry pie in front of him. He flicks a look at Andrew letting him know he’s decided on what he wants a slice of. Andrew nods.

Andrew walks to the cash register and the employee standing behind it. He pulls out his wallet before the employee begins to speak to shorten the time they have to spend in the small bakery.

The young woman smiles, “Hi, how can I help you?”

“The blueberry pie.”

“A slice?” She walks over to the case, pulling out the pie getting ready to slice it.

“The whole pie,” Andrew responds.

She pauses, surprised. She looks at Andrew confirming that he wants the entire pie. She then goes to the back to pull out a bigger box for the pie and places it in there. She rings up Andrew and waves him off wishing him a good rest of his day.

Andrew and Neil walk out of the bakery. Neil’s surprised face makes Andrew sigh. “You said pie. Not a slice.”

The last hour back to Palmetto is mostly uneventful. Neil and Andrew just spent two weeks traveling, driving through state after state, neither mind the periods of silence that fill the car between their occasional conversations.

Neil was anxious about how he would feel pulling into Palmetto near Fox Tower. This is where his trouble started, but it is also the same place Andrew noticed that and pulled him away from. Fox Tower is a lot of things to Neil, but with his dreams two weeks ago, he was scared that returning to campus would send a chill down his spine. 

It didn’t.

Pulling into the Fox Tower parking lot is a breath of fresh air. It’s familiar. It’s where his family lives. It’s where he comes back after training. It’s where he and Andrew shared so much of themselves that neither thought would ever reach the light of day. After two weeks away from Palmetto and Fox Tower Neil thinks about how stupid he had been to even think that his opinion could possibly change.

Andrew and Neil head up to their room to unpack, to rest. Andrew immediately gets into his bed to take a nap, dropping his bag on the floor without opening it to even the thought of unpacking it.

“Is someone sleepy?” Neil says in a hushed tone.

Andrew’s voice is muffled by the pillow he’s put in front of his head to block out the light. “Fuck off Josten, I’ve done too much driving to not sleep.”

Neil lets out a small laugh. “I’m going to put the pie in the fridge. I’ll text you in an hour to wake you up so you don’t mess up your sleeping schedule.”

Andrew flicks off Neil in response and Neil leaves the room. When Neil opens the fridge he sees that over the course of the two weeks they were gone Kevin has purged most of Andrew’s snacks and filled the fridge up with healthier food. Neil smirks knowing Andrew is not going to be happy with that, but they do have a whole pie to get through until Andrew punches Kevin for the lack of sweets.

Since most of the foxes aren’t at Fox Tower for summer vacation, Neil decides to head for the roof. Technically he, Andrew, and Kevin shouldn’t be at Fox Tower for summer vacation, but Wymack was able to pull some strings because of their steady increase in wins. He convinced the board with something about needing more time on the court and not getting paid enough to have them live in his apartment during the off season. Neil and Andrew would have stayed in Columbia for the break, but there’s no doubt that Andrew would hate driving every day to take Neil and Kevin to the court. Not only does Neil have easy access all summer to the court, but he also has easy access to one of his favorite places, the roof.

His memories of the roof are intertwined with his feelings for Andrew. The time spent up there before their relationship is important. The time spent there when their relationship was just starting is important. The time spent up there now is important. His memories with Andrew are important.

Neil makes his way to the edge of the roof where he and Andrew always sit. Looking over Palmetto State’s campus with the chance of falling causes a gut feeling of fear. For too long of a time it was the only way Andrew could feel. Things have changed with that, but the two of them like the roof. It’s their own getaway.

Neil lights a cigarette and sets it down next to him. The sun is almost finished setting by the time he’s gotten settled. He takes a deep breath through his nose letting the smoke in the air fill his lungs and exhales out of his mouth with a hushed sigh. It’s odd not having Andrew next to him. For two weeks they’d been together nonstop and while alone time is needed for both of them, Neil can already feel himself missing Andrew’s silent presence.

Neil recalls the past two weeks. They were amazing because of the person who was with him. If he had done any of that alone it would have been an aching weight on his heart. Neil can’t even remember how he spent the year in Millport alone anymore.

With each breath of smoke Neil takes, _in and out, in and out, in and out_ , Neil feels more and more grateful for Andrew’s presence in his life. The cigarettes Andrew had bought are the ones Neil likes. They’re more expensive than what Andrew normally chooses. He did that for Neil. Neil is grateful for the small gestures. Neil is grateful for their “yes and no?” and their trust in each other. Neil is grateful that their relationship is the way it is.

Neil is completely lost in his thoughts when he feels a bottle of whiskey tap his head. He looks up to see Andrew.

Andrew stares back at Neil. “It’s late.”

 _Oh_ , Neil thinks, _I forgot to wake him up._

Neil scratches his neck and looks back across campus. “I got a bit distracted. Sorry about not waking you up.”

Andrew sits down next to him. He takes a swig of whiskey before holding the bottle out to Neil, silently offering if he’d like a sip. Neil shakes his head no. Andrew sets the bottle of whiskey down on the side furthest from Neil.

Andrew picks up the pack of cigarettes, flicks two out, lights them, and then offers one to Neil. Neil only then notices that his cigarette had stopped burning long ago. Neil sets down his newly lit cigarette next to his old one as Andrew takes a drag of his cigarette.

Neil sighs, “I didn’t realize how long it had been since you went to sleep. I kind of zoned out for a while.” Andrew looks at Neil furrowing his eyebrows. “No, no don’t worry it wasn’t the bad kind of zoning out. I guess I was just,” Neil scratches his head, “appreciating things?”

Andrew’s expression returns to his regular blank one when takes his gaze away from Neil and looks up to the night sky. Neil does the same and is surprised by the amount of stars he is able to see. It’s hard to see the stars in the city, but the clear night is helping make the stars a bit more visible.

Neil decides to break the silence again, “The stars are pretty.” It’s a throw away sentence asking Andrew if he wants to talk right now. Andrew flicks his eyes back to Neil just in his peripheral vision.

A slow smile makes its way onto Neil’s face. “My mom taught me a lot about the stars. In certain places we lived in it was less crowded which meant less people and in turn less lights.” Neil looks down and shakes his head. “Of course she didn’t exactly teach me about them for the sake of them being pretty.”

Andrew cocks his head to the side. Neil looks back at Andrew to answer his silent question. “She taught me so if we got separated or lost during the night I could always find out where I was or where I should go.”

Andrew takes a long drag from his cigarette. “You only need to know the North Star for navigation. Even I can point it out, it’s not hard.” Andrew lazily raises his hand to point out the North Star.

“That’s true, but if you’re ten years old you’re going to end up begging your mom to continue teaching you about the stars. I thought it was pretty cool,” Neil pauses and scratches his chin. “Though it’s entirely possible she lied about the constellations she taught me.”

Andrew looks at Neil and let’s out a small huff of air through his nose. “You never bothered figuring out. Neil, as predictable as he is unreal.”

Neil picked up his cigarette, cradling it between his fingers. The smell still reminds him of his mom, but it’s now joined by his memories with Andrew. Neil takes another deep breath before returning to the conversation.

“Yeah, well, I actually used the North Star navigation tactic more than once. I was pretty sure that if that worked then it meant she was telling the truth about the other stuff.”

Andrew’s ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

“I was _ten_ , Andrew,” Neil stresses trying to get the smug look off of Andrew’s face. It doesn’t leave his face and Neil doesn’t mind even if it’s only there because of an embarrassing memory.

“I know a few actually. Cass taught me them.” Andrew looks down at his cigarette and takes a quick drag and exhales slowly.

Each time Andrew mentions his past life, his time with Cass, feels like he’s being thrown a sparkler. It’s incredible to be trusted to handle something that isn’t meant to be thrown, but dangerous to handle something on fire, let alone catch, if you aren’t being careful. 

Neil knows not to push when Andrew mentions Cass. Neil decides to continue on with their conversation after cataloguing the memory Andrew has shared into his mind. Putting off piecing together who Andrew is silently with Andrew’s permission. “Are you offering to test me?”

“What I’m saying is I know more than the Big Dipper and Orion’s Belt.”

Neil hums. “Well I know a few more than that, too. Mind if I point them out?”

Andrew stubs out his cigarette. He looks to the sky waiting for Neil to point them out. “Do what you want.”

Neil scoots over to Andrew and asks him ‘yes or no?’ to which Andrew replies ‘yes.’ Neil takes Andrew’s wrist carefully into his own hand and leans in closer to Andrew so he can get a better look on Andrew’s line of vision. Neil lifts their arms up to the beginning of a constellation.

“Do you know Cassiopeia?” Neil says looking at Andrew.

Andrew returns the stare. “It was the first one Cass taught me. It has her name in it, stupid.”

Neil lets out a small laugh. “Alright, alright, you can correct me if I’m wrong about where it is.” 

Neil taps Andrew’s knuckle to let him know that he should extend his index finger. Andrew does so and Neil begins to point out the constellation. “It starts here.” Neil moves Andrew’s hand and stops it, waiting for Andrew to nod to confirm he sees the star Neil is talking about. “Then it heads down diagonally here and then moves to the right.” Andrew nods again. “It goes down diagonally again and then to the right again.”

Andrew shakes his head. “So close, Josten.” 

Neil whips his head and looks at Andrew. “What? What did I get wrong?”

“The last star.” Andrew switches their positions. He takes Neil’s wrist into his hand and points to the second to last star. “You messed up after this one. You were correct when you said it moved right, but it moves up diagonally as well.”

“Huh,” Neil says looking back at Andrew. “I already got the first one wrong.”

“Is that supposed to be surprising?”

Neil looked at Andrew with a blank stare. “I surprised myself for thinking I’d get sympathy for forgetting. Y’know, after ten years it’s almost guaranteed to forget somethings. I mean, unless you’re Andrew Minyard.”

“Flattery gets you nowhere.” Neil was still looking at Andrew expectantly. “What do you want?”

“I’m going to take a leap here. Since you know the constellation, you’re bound to know the story.”

“And why is that?”

“Because you’re Andrew Minyard, the man who forgets nothing.”

“Hm, funny,” Andrew taps his chin. “I don’t remember that.”

“If you tell me I’ll offer to make Kevin his gross smoothies, but instead of using all of the vegetables he puts in there I’ll put an ungodly amount of sugar in there and mix it all with green food dye.”

“Cassiopeia was an extremely vain queen. She pissed off the Gods so they put her in the sky and she hangs upside down for half of the year,” Andrew said without wasting a breath. Before Neil can speak Andrew swings his legs over to get back on the roof away from the railing. “I’m going back inside now.”

Neil swings his legs over as well and catches Andrew’s wrist again. “What would it take to get you to point out one more constellation and tell me the story behind it?”

Andrew closes the gap between himself and Neil. “What would you give me?”

“What would you take?” Neil smiles, biting his lip moving his head closer to Andrew’s.

“I want to smack that smile off of your face.” Andrew moves his hands to the back of Neil’s neck.

“Is that _really_ what you want in exchange?” Neil’s breath tickles Andrew’s lips.

“Don’t ask questions if you already know the answer,” Andrew growls before closing the minuscule gap between the two of them to shut Neil up.

It’s over the past two years Neil has learned that he’ll never have to use the North Star to find his way home. Neil leaves it unspoken that home isn’t a place anymore, it’s a person.

**Author's Note:**

> hh h h oo what a RIDE if you've followed me on twitter within the past two months you'll know how hard I've worked on and stressed over "The Fic" as it's been called for almost two months
> 
> this was a labor of love and is something I've worked incredibly hard on so leaving a comment would mean the world to me
> 
> I tried to reference a few lines from the books as well (tsym nora for such an amazing series)
> 
> thank you for reading!!!


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